Augustine Okwudiri Akobundu & Ors v. Independent National Electoral Commission & Ors (2023)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

BIOBELE ABRAHAM GEORGEWILL JCA (Delivering the leading judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal, Abia State, sitting at Umaahia, Abia State in Election Petition No. EPT/AB/SEN/02/2023: Augustine Okwudiri Akobundu & Anor. v. Independent National Electoral Commission & Others delivered on 11/9/2023, wherein the petition filed by the 1st and 2nd appellants as petitioners against the respondents was dismissed for both being incompetent and lacking in merit.

The appellants were peeved with the said judgment and had appealed against it to this court vide their notice of appeal filed on 30/9/2023 19 grounds at pages 679 – 706 of the record of appeal.

The record of appeal was duly transmitted to this court on 8/10/2023. The appellants’ brief was filed on 13/10/2023. The 1st respondent’s brief was filed on 21/10/2023. The 2nd and 3rd respondents’ brief was filed on 21/10/2013. The appellants’ reply brief to the 1st respondent’s brief was filed on 27/10/2023.

At the hearing of this appeal on 28/10/2023, the appellants were represented by Tolutope Idowu Esq, holding the brief of Chief Harry Balogu, who adopted the appellants’ brief and reply briefs as their arguments in support of the appeal and urged the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the lower tribunal and grant the reliefs sought by the appellants against the respondents.

The 1st respondent was represented by Betram Faotu Esq, holding the brief of J. O. Omotiba Esq, who adopted the 1st respondent’s brief as their arguments in opposition to the appeal and urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the lower tribunal.

The 2nd and 3rd respondents were represented by O. C. Ochiobi Esq, holding the brief of Nnamdi U. N. Ahaaiwe Esq, who adopted the 2nd and 3rd respondents’ brief as their arguments in opposition to the appeal and urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the lower tribunal.

Brief statement of facts

As can be garnered from the averments of the parties in their respective pleadings before the lower tribunal as well as the evidence, oral and documentary as led by the parties who called witnesses, the facts relevant to this appeal are that the election into the Abia Central Senatorial District which held on 25/2/2023 was conducted under the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which prescribed the qualifications for persons who are to participate in the said election as candidates of registered political parties.

At the conclusion of the said election, the 1st respondent declared and returned the 2nd respondent of the 3rd respondent, Labour Party, as the winner of the said election.

The appellants were aggrieved with the return of the 2nd respondent and had filed a petition on 17/3/2023 challenging the election of the 2nd respondent on grounds, including that he was, at the time of the said election, not qualified to contest the election of 25/2/2023 by reason of the fact that he was not a validly sponsored candidate of the 2nd respondent in contravention of the extant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

However, with the leave of the lower tribunal, the appellants amended their petition and the amended petition was filed on 19/6/2023. See pages of pages 1 – 100 and 363 – 386 of the records of appeal.

Upon service of the appellants’ petition, the respondents filed their replies to the petition, to which the appellants filed their replies to the respondents’ replies. The 2nd and 3rd respondents vehemently denied all the allegations of the appellants and averred that the 2nd respondent was qualified and was duly nominated as the candidate of the 3rd respondent at the question election, in which he lawfully participated, scored the majority of the valid lawful vote cast and was validly declared and returned as the duly elected person by the 1st respondent, INEC. The 2nd and 3rd challenged by way of preliminary objection the competence of ground ii of the appellants’ petition and prayed the lower tribunal to strike out all the paragraphs in support of ground ii in the appellants’ petition. See pages 152 – 218 of the records of appeal.

On its, part, the 1st respondent, INEC, had averred inter alia that it was the statutory body saddled with the responsibility of conducting election in accordance with the extant laws, which it conducted into the Abia Central Senatorial District on 25/2/2023, in which the 2nd respondent was the candidate of the 3rd respondent, Labour Party, who won the said election having scored the highest lawful votes cast at the said election and was so declared and returned as the winner by the 1st respondent, while that 1st appellant, was the candidate of the 2nd appellant, PDP, in the said election and scored the second highest lawful votes cast and was the first runner up in the said election.